Experts say Hong Kong’s medical research faces hurdles beyond funding

Hong Kong excels at medical research. So what is holding it back?

Hong Kong’s effort to turn medical research into real-world treatments is facing obstacles that go beyond research funding, according to experts.

They point to limited industry investment, production capacity and specialist talent as hurdles to the city’s biomedical ambitions. The challenge is not only to produce world-class research, but also to develop treatments and devices that can be manufactured and used widely.

From research to real-world treatment

The issue is examined in the first instalment of a four-part Health Matters wellness series on frontier medicine in Hong Kong. Elizabeth Cheung looks at how the city can turn advanced research into treatments and what it needs to become a global biomedical innovation hub.

The experience of Hong Kong biomedical engineer Raymond Tong Kai-yu illustrates the difficulty of that process. Tong spent a decade overcoming cost and production challenges while developing a robotic hand designed to help stroke patients regain mobility and relearn everyday movements.

Tong developed the device, known as “Hand of Hope”, 15 years ago at the age of 39. It is now used in hospitals across 15 countries, but reaching that stage was far from smooth.

“It is challenging to turn scientific research products into real-life applications for others to use … breakthroughs in research and market access cannot happen at the same time,” said Tong, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s department of biomedical engineering.

His comments underline why research success alone may not be enough. For Hong Kong to build a stronger biomedical innovation hub, the path from a scientific breakthrough to production, market access and wider use will also need to be addressed.

Source: South China Morning Post